Customize the Guest Operating System

Depending on the selected source and destination, you can customize the operating system of the target virtual machine.

You can configure the guest preferences for sources running on Windows XP or later.

Prerequisites

You must set up the sysprep files before you can customize Windows 2003, Windows 2000, and Windows XP sources. The sysprep files must be saved to %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\VMware\VMware vCenter Converter Standalone on the machine where the Converter Standalone server runs. For more details on sysprep location for different operating systems, see Save Sysprep Files.

Procedure

1	On the View/Edit Options page, click Advanced options.

2	In the Advanced conversion options pane, select Configure guest preferences for the virtual machine and click Next to view and adjust the available customization options.

Option	Action
Computer Information	Enter computer name, owner name, and organization details for the destination virtual machine. If necessary, generate a new security ID.
Windows License	Enter the product ID or server license information for Windows operating systems.
Time Zone	Adjust the destination time zone.
Network Interface Settings	Set up the IP address and DNS server of each destination network adapter as well as DNS and WINS, if applicable.
Workgroup or Domain Page	Set up the network rights of the target virtual machine.

What to do next

On the Customizations page, you can make more precise settings to the guest operating system and advance to the task summary page.

Subtopics

Edit the Destination Computer Information

To identify the target virtual machine on the network, you need to personalize it by editing its name, its owner and organization name, and by generating a new security ID.

Enter the Windows License Information

VMware recommends entering licensing information for all destination virtual machines that are subject to licensing.

Set the Time Zone

You can set the time zone if you are converting a virtual machine to use in a remote location.

Set Up the Network Adapters

You can customize network adapter settings on the destination virtual machine.

Assign a Workgroup or Domain Details

You can set up the way a target virtual machine participates in the destination network.

Related tasks

Customize a Virtual Machine’s Guest Operating System

Save Sysprep Files